Comment 948 on “The Best American Short Stories 2016”

1. Maxwell says:

   at 7:23 AM

   Rating anthologies like this seems a bit arbitrary to me because in any group there are going to be stories you like and stories you don t However, as a whole I really enjoyed reading this collection, and there are some notable stories that definitely made it worthwhile Only one story the last one, funnily enough was too cumbersome to finish though it s absolutely a personal preference situation in that I didn t like the writing style whatsoever.Highlights from the anthology Andrea Barrett s Won [...]

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2. Matthew Quann says:

   at 7:23 AM

   The Best American Short Stories 2016 doesn t exactly land a hit with every single story, but makes up for the few duds with superb variety.I ll be honest I picked this one up because I love Junot Diaz and his name emblazoned on a cover is enough to sell me just about anything If you could imagine a fetid sack of meat which bore Diaz s endorsement, you d find me carrying to the checkout In any case, I ve been trying to read short stories, and you d think it d be hard to go wrong with a best of c [...]

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3. Lauren says:

   at 7:23 AM

   Even BASS, as much as I love it, can t rehabilitate 2016, but Junot D az succeeds in giving us a much needed bright spot This marks my tenth year of buying Best American Short Stories yes, if you do the math on that, you can figure out what compelled geeky college me to pick it up that first year , so I was feeling appropriately sentimental, but I can say with confidence that this would be a great place to pick the series up for the first time D az provides a volume with a great global sensibili [...]

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4. Joseph says:

   at 7:23 AM

   Can we please, please just have Junot D az edit these things from now on Some statistics for your consideration 65% people of color 65% women 90% stories that I found to be worth reading all of which are statistics that compare favorably to every previous edition of the Best American Short Stories And a solid majority were than merely worthy, but very good to excellent Which, excuse me, is what I once naively hoped for when an anthology has the word Best in its title.Particularly outstanding ar [...]

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5. Olivia says:

   at 7:23 AM

   The title does not match the content

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6. Anne Earney says:

   at 7:23 AM

   Bought this one because one of my co workers relatives Daniel J O Malley had a story, Bridge, here This turned out to be one of my favorites, along with Ted Chiang s The Great Silence, Louise Erdrich s The Flower, Meron Hadero s The Suitcase, and John Edgar Wideman s Williamsburg Bridge Karen Russell s story, The Prospectors, had all the elements of one I should love ghosts, adventure, love but it left me flat, and feeling that way left me irritated, so it gets a mention for affecting me, althou [...]

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7. Terri Jacobson says:

   at 7:23 AM

   I find the stories in this annual collection to be consistently excellent At least 3 stories have African settings and African writers, so that made me do some research to find out what the criteria are for inclusion in this volume The stories have to be originally published in an American or Canadian periodical, written in English by writers who have made the United States their home, and originally published as short stories The guest editor for this collection was Junot D az I liked all of th [...]

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8. Sara says:

   at 7:23 AM

   God but did I loathe some of these stories I had the distinct feeling that many of the authors felt nothing but contempt for their readers.Top 5 Apollo by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The way love can so easily turn to vengeance.The Great Silence by Ted Chiang A reflection on the irony of humankind seeking life in the stars while destroying the rich life we have on earth.The Flower by Louise Erdrich How actions to escape terrible situations can haunt us for years to come Magical realism Treasure Sta [...]

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9. Andy Miller says:

   at 7:23 AM

   I always look forward to the publication of the year s Best American Short Stories The diversity exposes me to writers I might not ordinarily read, updates me on current work by long time favorites, and introduces me to beginning writers If I don t love all the collection s stories, equally, or as this year, read some stories that left me unsatisfied or disappointed, well that s a small price to pay for such a wonderful reading experience My favorites from this year s collection Gifted is narrat [...]

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10. tortoise dreams says:

    at 7:23 AM

    The title best describes the intent of this series, presented in its current format with a name guest editor, since 1978 Book review The Best American Short Stories 2016, that ambitious claim assumes a significant responsibility When Junot Diaz, author of the beyond brilliant The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was announced as the editor for 2016 my hopes were raised, but this installment was disappointing There are some notable names Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Louise Erdrich, Lauren Groff, Jo [...]

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11. Darrin says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Where to begin There were so many good short stories in this volume The short biographical blurbs with information about the authors books, short bio and how each story came to be is really helpful.My favorites They didn t match Junot Diaz favorites but here they are Wonders of the Shore by Andrea BarrettFor the God of Love, for the Love of God by Lauren GroffTreasure State by Smith HendersonThe Prospectors by Karen Russell

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12. Alor Deng says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Some superb stories here Three of which deserve even recognition than just being printed on here Lauren Groff s story was superb One of the best things I ve ever read The last page of her story was the work of a genius.

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13. Ming says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Short stories have been a difficult format for me as a reader to consistently enjoy I ve often felt rushed, shortchanged or merely distracted but unsatisfied Diaz, the editor here, however, described the beauty of short stories and it then finally dawned on me when I do like short stories And this year, I read and absolutely loved Swimmer Among the Stars Stories by Kanishk Tharoor this work is beautiful and completely creative and mind expanding Diaz writes in the Introduction, I am as much in a [...]

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14. Sarah Langan says:

    at 7:23 AM

    It s great collection, with legit and distinct voices I wish less came from The New Yorker, which I read anyway I also wish were genre and by genre, I mean I wish had actual plots, characters with agency who changed as a result of action decision, and satisfying resolutions But the good ones are really, really good Garments by Tahmima Anam, about a women who enters into a polygamous marriage in the hopes her life will improve always an ominous decision The Letician Age by Yalitza Ferrera, whic [...]

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15. Sonya says:

    at 7:23 AM

    This is a collection where I d read a story every once in a while and then forget about it while I read other work, which is a good way to approach an anthology of stories connected only by the favor of the editors There are some standouts that include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie s Apollo The Bears by Sarah Shun Lien Bynum Smith Henderson s Treasure State Lisa Ko s Pat Sam pushing The Leavers, Ko s new novel higher up on my tbr Ben Marcus s Cold Little Bird what a menacing kid how callow cold steel [...]

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16. Carol Weaver says:

    at 7:23 AM

    I read many short story collections and found this to be among the best The diversity of the collection is rich both in the ethnic background of the authors and their writing style Every story was effective in holding the attention of the reader with eloquent and witty prose, plus an ability to make us assess some part of our own lives.

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17. Terri says:

    at 7:23 AM

    This book jump started a reading dry spell I ve had for awhile Diaz s introduction is a thing of beauty, as so much of his thoughtful writing is The stories are a wonderful variety of voices, styles, and subjects Worthwhile.

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18. Amy says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Much diverse lineup of writers than usual, and some truly wonderful stories.

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19. Aharon says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Some, but not all, of the title is accurate.

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20. Billie Pritchett says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Junot Diaz is a great author and has done a fine job collecting the story for The Best American Short Stories 2016 Here s what I can recall from memory.Yalitza Ferreras s The Letician Age is a story about a woman who falls in love and who has an interest in volcanic rock There s the threat of an accident, and a heartbreaking move toward the end.Meron Hadero s The Suitcase is a wholesome story about a character who is trying to bring back some gifts from the native land.Yuko Sakato s On This Side [...]

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21. Jeff says:

    at 7:23 AM

    I must read a couple of hundred short stories a year As this number has increased my blanket approval of these collections has lessened I guess I have become a bit discerning, or in a cynical view, it has become harder to impress me A review of these stories individually below The first story is by the fantastic writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Titled Apollo it was published in The New Yorker In it we meet a middle aged man who has taken on the responsibility of his elder parents They live in E [...]

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22. Kevin Keating says:

    at 7:23 AM

    There were three or four pretty good stories in here, but I guess I thought that they d all be a lot better, for the best of American short stories Several had pretty poor closure or character development and I got the impression the authors were just writing an idea for a larger novel and just called it a short story Meh.

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23. Wendy Wakeman says:

    at 7:23 AM

    This year s collection has received a lot of well deserved praise for its wide range of voices For that reason, and because the stories seem shorter than usual, I enjoyed it than I have other BASS collections Among the collection are a few I d recommend to folks who aren t usually short story people A favorite, The Letician Age, poignantly portrayed the struggle of a young immigrant girl in America and at the same time delivered a lot of science y information The research didn t overwhelm the s [...]

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24. Debra Komar says:

    at 7:23 AM

    As always with these anthologies, it was a mixed bag There are some standouts, like Ben Marcus Cold Little Bird , the story of parents coming to terms with their seemingly psychotic child There are some resounding thuds, such as Lauren Groff s The Love of God, the God of Love , which is as pretentious and overwritten as her novel Fates and Furies The rest fall somewhere in between The opening essays by the editor Junot Diaz are nothing special Not a stellar year for this collection, but also not [...]

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25. Karl Arney says:

    at 7:23 AM

    I picked this up with the goal of exposing myself to unfamiliar writers, and especially to expose myself to a wider variety of female and minority writers, having realized that with the exception of a decent handful of male Latino writers and stone cold classic works by women, my shelves were pretty white washed and male I was familiar with this edition s editor, Junot Diaz, through three guesses and the first two don t count his Pulitzer winner, 2008 s The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, whi [...]

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26. Christine Wiseman says:

    at 7:23 AM

    While I understand that a reader doesn t have to love every short story in an anthology in order to respect the craft, I had an overwhelming impression that this year s guest editor was using the role to send a message about race and diversity rather than choosing the absolute best written pieces out of thousands I started with Apollo and The Politics of the Quotidian which made me go on to research the guest editor Junot Diaz The Boston Globe writes that Diaz has criticized the unbearable white [...]

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27. `Cristina says:

    at 7:23 AM

    I am not a fan of short stories and this is exactly why I picked this book I wanted something I usually stay away from I enjoyed the stories, mostly I liked the way these writers are able to build a plot and interesting sets of characters in just few pages I like their writing style, short, concise and yet rich enough to convey the depth of the charactera Some stories were appelimg than others.I gave three starts but it was mostly like a 3

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28. Cassandra says:

    at 7:23 AM

    I like short story collections, but this one was pretty hit or miss for me, and even the hits didn t really move me enough to make me like the collection as a whole A couple favorites include Ted Chiang s The Great Silence and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie s Apollo To be honest, even though Junot Diaz s introduction was an autobiographical story about his journey to writing short fiction, it was some of the most interesting writing in the book.

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29. Brent Watson says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Most of these stories are really, really good A few like, Smith Henderson s Treasure State, On This Side by Yuko Sakata, and Solomon Solwitz s Gifted will stick with me for a long time And like most years of this series, there will be some short stories the editor must have loved, yet I did not connect with.

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30. Marie Connor says:

    at 7:23 AM

    Excellent short stories most of them, some by favorite authors such as Andrea Barrett, and Louise Erdrich Found some new favorites such as Ben Marcus and Karen Russell Didn t care for the last story.

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